Process of degumming silk.



E. SGHNURRENBERGER.

PROCESS 0F DEGUMMING SILK.

ArPLIoA'rIoN funn Nov. 2e, 1911.

1 ,026,000. Patented May 14, 1912.

Il l 111 1 JHM l Ue il Il MIMI! EMIL SCHNURRENBERGER, 0F PATERSON, NEWJERSEY, ASSIGNOR T0 WEIDMANN SILK DYEIN G CO., OF PATERSON, NEW

JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PROCESS OIFv DEGUMMING. SILK.

To all 'whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, EMIL SGHNURREN- i BERGER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Paterson,` in the county of'Passaic and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Processesof Degumming Si k, of whichvthe fol'- lowing is a specification.

This inventlon consists in an improvedv process of removing the gumWhichexists on silk in its natural state. According to this process, thesilk, say in the form of skeins, is placed in a suitable vat or chest,being strung on and suspended from sticks or rollers whichmay be turnedso as to permit altering the relation of the silk thereto for a purposeto be indicated. This chest or vat is open at the top and has a coverwhich,

' by heilig hinged or removable, allows access to the interior of thechest but which more or less closely seals the opening when in theclosed position. Otherwise., except for a vent at thel bottom ofthechest or vat whose purpose will later appear, the chest may be andpreferably is both air and steam tight. Having suspended the skeins inthe vessel, by suitable spraying means leading into the same preferablyabove the silk, soap solution is sprayed upon the silk, well-soaking thesame. Then, by vsuitable means also entering the chest or vat, the silkis subjected to a steam bath, say by delivering steam,in a free stateinto the vessel, so that the soaped silk'is thoroughly acted upon by thesteam or vapor, the steaming operation being continued lfor a suitablelength of time, varying from ten to twenty minutes, according to thenature ot the silk. The conjoint effect ot' the soap solution and steambeing the active factor in the romoval of the gum, it is advisableeither to repeat the admission of the soap solution from time to timeduring each steamin operation or keep the solution constant y s rayed onthe silk. Moreover', since the ef ciency and the expeditin of theprocesswill of course be materia ly enhanced the more effective thesteam is in its action on the soaped silk, the performance of theprocess in a closed vessel whose comn'iuueation with the atmosphereisrestricted, say at the vent, so that at the very outset even air isexcluded, 1eaving only steam within the vessel, is highlyy advantageous.The vent allows the escape Specification of Letters Patent. yApplication tiled November 29, 1911.

geous results,

Patented May 14, 19,12. serial No. 663,053. i

tof the drippin'gs of the soap solution, which may thus be recovered andre-used.

During the treatment the sticks or rollers are turned from time to time,or in some other way the relation of t-he silk thereto altered, so thatthe part of-the silk in contact with the sticks or rollers at one stagein the process will be clear thereof at another stage and so morethoroughly receive the effects of the treatment. As the nallstep in thetreatment the silk is washed by clean hot water, which is preferablysprayed onto the silk in any suitable way, say by the s raying meansutilized in the spraying of t e soap solution; when the released gum hasbeen washed off in this manner, the silk maybe removed from the chest orvat. In this treatment the action of the soap and steam is accomplishedwithout those. disadvantasnch as disturbance of the fibers of the silkand the s'narlin or disarranging of the strands thereof, which accompanythe usual treatment consisting in soaking the silk in -ahot soapsolution. It is moreover found that the treatment is more thorough andexpeditious than that' coin# monly )ractised in that the steam and thesoap solution are more effectively impregnative and otherwiseinfluential on the gummed silk 4than any treatment involving 1mmersingthe silk in a liquid bath. v

An apparatus suitable for the carrying out of the ilnproved process isshown in the accompanying drawing wherein the single figure shows theapparatus in section.

a. is a chest or vathaving a hinged cover b which closely fits the opentop of said chest or vat. Along one side thereof are arranged a seriesot' sockets c for the ends of the rollers d which are journaled in saidsockets and at their opposite ends are received by the rotary sockets csuitably fitted thereto s0 that the rollers will turn on turning saidsockets e. Sockets c carry bevel pinions f meshing with bevel pinions g/on a shaft suitably journaled on the outside of the vat or chest andhaving a crank i whereby to turn it. AboveI the skeins A, which arestrung on and hang suspended from the rollers, is a perforated sprayingcoil j. Below the skeins, at the bottom of the vat, is a coil L', alsoperforated. Above the coil lc is preferably a perfo rated diaphragmserving to 'prevent the steam issuing kfrom thc coil from spurting pcfsoap solution drain from the vat or chcst by Way of the vent s which mayhave two l Outlets s and s2 controlled by two cocks t 4tents 0f thereservoir to the tank nz. washing step is preferably, though notl and tso that either the soap solution may be discharged into the reservoir(by outlet 8f) orthe washing water conducted away outsideof saidreservoir.v u is a pipe, provided with a pump o, for returning the con-The necessarily, performed while the silk is still within the vesselafter the treatment` with steam and soap solution.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new` anddesire t0 se- Cure 'by Letters Patent is :-a

1. The herein-'described process of separating the gum from silkWhichconsists in placing the silk in a suitable receptacle, wetting thesilk while in said receptacle with soap in solution, treating the silkwith a steam bath while still in said receptacle and While Wot- With thesoap solution, and finally washing the silk, substantially as described.

2.. The herein-described process of separating thegum from silk whichconsists in placing the silk in a suitable receptacle, wetting' the silkwhile in said receptacle with soap in solution, lilling the receptaclewith free steam while the silk is still in said receptacle and still wetwith the soap solution, and finally washing the silk, substantially asdescribed.

3. The herein described process of separating' the gum from silk whichconsists in placing the silk in a suitable vessel and, while 1n saidvessel, spraying the silk with soap solution and treating the silk witha steam bath, and linally washing the silk, substantially as described.

4. The herein described process of sepa-- rating the gum from silk whichconsists in placing the silk in a substantially closed vessel, then,while in said vessel, spraying the silk with soap solution and lillingthe vessel with tree steam, and finally washing the silk, substantiallyas described.

5. The herein described process of separating the gum from silk whichconsists in placing the silk in a substantially closed vessel, then,while in safid vessel, spraying the silk with soap solution andsimultaneously filling the "vessel with free steam, suhstantiallydescribed.

' In testimony whereof I allix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

EMIL SClflNURRlCNBERGER. Witnesses J oHN W. STEWARD, WM. D. BELL.

